My Dad found this 20 or 30 years ago in a steep clay bank along the Trinity river about 30 miles south of Dallas We have always wondered what it is and what it was used for . Along with this artifact he also found a few arrow heads in same location. Any help Identifying this item would be appreciated.
Thanks Dan
The real Treasure is the time you spend with friends and family digging up all the junk and trying to figure out what you have found.
Thanks for the replies, we thought of that the only thing is the back of this item is carved out evenly the whole length, As it to fit over something . Were the gorgets worn with holes horizontal or vertical.
The real Treasure is the time you spend with friends and family digging up all the junk and trying to figure out what you have found.
To me it looks like an Atlatl Weight. I have seen the same thing as you originally posted but without the holes. The ones I saw had notches on the outer curve to accommodate sinew to tie it to the Atlatl staff or handle. The inside curve would sit flat to the Staff-Handle.
This is a weight like the gorgets are said to be. This is a small weight compared to the heavier Gorget. When I say Gorget I mean the butterfly type with a tube drilled through.
Here is a diagram I made.
Hope it helps.
~Zeawolf~
Right on the money again Cannonman. Definitely a "boatstone"....aka atlatl weight. It looks like a gorget, but most of those are flat with two holes and not curved.
It fit against the atlatl stick to offer weight or counterbalance. Those things were apparently precious to owners for the boatstons are usually quite elaborate and labor intensive. I have never found one....kinda jealous. Congrats on a really nice piece of history.
Primary function was as a counter balance for an atl-atl - all about physics. Any secondary purposes they may have had (such as also being a good luck piece or charm) would have been coincidental at best and while entirely possilbe, perhaps even likely, there's really no way to prove it. One might argue about the more intricate and effigy types, birdstone and the pop eyes in particular seem a bit fancy to be used stricly as a counter balance but then again maybe the were showing off their skill as craftsmen, or maybe they were representations of a particular clan, or... the possibilities are almost endless but the key point here is that the primary function was as a weight, not a magic charm or necklace.
"A culture truly grows great when old men plant trees in who's shade they know they will never sit"
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I've seen similar ones made of granite and phorphery in the "knoblock collection".Here's a couple other examples-
Originally Posted by pickaway
